5 Tips to Ease Recovery After Minimally Invasive Colon Surgery (Colectomy)

It goes without saying that surgery of any kind can be disruptive and uncomfortable, but we want you to keep two things in mind as you prepare for your upcoming colon surgery. 

To start, this surgery (a colectomy) should ultimately improve your health. Second, minimally invasive colon surgery can greatly improve recovery.

That said, there are some steps that you can take to ease your recovery from your colectomy, which the comprehensive team of board-certified specialists at Fairfax Colon & Rectal Surgery outlines here. 

Minimally invasive colon surgery at a glance

Let’s first discuss some of the many benefits of minimally invasive colectomy, which can help paint a clearer picture of what you can expect during recovery.

Thanks to laparoscopic surgery, as well as our use of advanced da Vinci® robotic technology, we’re often able to avoid more invasive open surgeries. Instead, we only need to make small incisions in your abdomen, through which we thread a small, high-def camera and specialized robotic instruments that we control from a console.

These robotic arms allow us to perform precise and accurate movements in small spaces to reduce collateral damage.

There are many benefits to this approach to colon surgery, including:

• Less time in the hospital
• Reduced tissue damage
• Less disturbance to your digestive system
• Less blood loss
• Reduced risk for infection

All of this works together to shorten recovery times, but there is still some recovery to navigate.

Recovery best practices after colon surgery

Whether you’re undergoing a colectomy for colon cancer, which is diagnosed in nearly 110,000 Americans each year, or some other issue like diverticulitis, recovery is the same. 

And you can help ease this recovery by:

1. Preparing your home in advance

Although minimally invasive colon surgery certainly helps with recovery, you’re still going to need time to heal and rest. So, we strongly urge patients to prepare the home front in advance. 

For example, create an area in your living room or bedroom where you have everything within reach. You should also arrange for help for at least two weeks after your surgery, as you should be taking it easy. So, get what chores you need done ahead of time and enlist some family and friends to help with grocery shopping, kid pick-up, or whatever else you need.

2. Getting meals prepped and having the right foods on hand

After your colon surgery, you’ll likely be on a restricted diet of liquids and soft foods to start. Once we give you the green light for more solid foods, they will be low fiber to give your colon a break.

We supply you with a dietary list of dos and don’ts, so please study this so that you can make sure you have the right foods on hand when you get back. You might even prepare some meals in advance.

3. Drinking plenty of fluids

Constipation can be a tricky problem after colon surgery, especially if you’re taking pain meds, so it’s a very good idea to increase your fluid intake as you recover.

4. Moving around as you’re able

While we want you to take it easy, we do recommend some light movement during recovery, which helps by circulating healing resources and getting digestive processes going. So, a nice walk around the neighborhood is ideal for this.

5. Recognizing when there’s an issue

During your recovery from a colectomy, we want you to be vigilant about complications. Again, these are kept to a minimum thanks to our advanced surgical techniques, but there’s still risk for infection at the small incision site, so keep them clean and well dressed.

Another issue that patients run into is ileus, a condition in which your colon temporarily stops working after the surgical disruption. The risk for ileus is about 10% to 20% after a colectomy, but patients who undergo minimally invasive surgery are on the lower end of this scale.

Ileus is hard to ignore and typically comes with abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, and no bowel movements. Should any of these develop, please let us know right away.

If you have more questions about easing recovery after your colectomy, please don’t hesitate to contact us at one of our five offices in the Fairfax, Virginia, area.